(1)Mario vs (16)Servbot 2002
Results Round One Monday, July 1st, 2002 Ulti's Analysis The first match between Mario and Servbot was a predetermined win for Mario, the odds-on favorite to win the entire contest, but it at least got the ball rolling. This match wasn't about whether or not Mario would win, but how impressive he would be in his efforts. And despite knowing what we know now, this match was impressive on Mario's part at the time of the match. The thing to remember here is that this was the very first match of the very first contest. Statistical error was bound to be a result of the first match due to low vote totals, an unusually high number of joke/underdog votes, and the fact that the contest was still a very niche, GF-only affair at the time. Take a look at virtually any user-made poll held on the site's various social boards. A ton of joke votes are cast simply because people like to be different, and the only way an entity in any of those contests can truly suck is if an entrant truly sucks. We all know that Servbot isn't stronger than half the field like his match with Mario would suggest, but this is only because this was the very first match to ever take place in a contest, and the match had the "user-made poll" feel to it. If this match were ever to be held again, Mario would cream Servbot like the no-name that he is. Even back then, this was still a blowout of somewhat epic proportions. Take a quick look at all of the 2002 results. Very few matches saw any one opponent score more than 80%, and it's unfortunate that Mario has never truly gotten the respect that he deserves. Even today, Mario is one of the elite characters that has yet to show the strength necessary to get over the hump and flat-out win a contest. One thing was for certain after this match. A monster was born, for better or for worse. Stats and Analysis Before the Match This was the first match ever and with Mario being the favorite to take the contest this wasn't whether or not he would win, it was by how much. Just because he was the favorite didn't mean he was going to win, he had to prove that he had the power to beat the likes of Cloud, Solid Snake, Link and Sephiroth, who at the time was thought to be the strongest characters. After the Match Mario almost tripled Servbot and at the time it was an impressive performance, then again this was the first match ever and as more characters started to put up better numbers against stronger characters than Servbot, Mario's performance wasn't really all that good. If anything it makes him look weak. When you're the favorite to take the contest you shouldn't be giving up more than a quartre of the votes to somebody who many people thought was a lego character. Many people said that Servbot's performance was a fluke and that Mario would easily score over 85%, if not 80% if they were to meet again, but the chances of Servbot returning are really slim. Interesting Facts * First match ever. * Because of Servbot's performance and the lack of strength in the bracket in general he was able to finish in the top half of the 2k2 x-stats. • (No Previous Match) • Next Match Category:2002 Contest Matches